L3 FARMERS IMPROVES LIVELIHOODS IN KENYA

COL’s Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3 Farmers) programme has been active in Kenya since 2007. As with L3 Farmers initiatives in India, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka, L3 Farmers in Kenya enables farmers to gain knowledge and access financing, leading to significant improvements in livelihoods. The key L3 Farmers partners in Kenya are Ikonzo Musanda Self Help Group, Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group and Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC). After Mrs. Immaculate Awino Ouma and her husband were displaced by civil unrest in Kenya’s Central Province in 2008, Mrs. Ouma got involved with L3 Farmers. This story is excerpted from the UCRC newsletter, January-February 2011 issue.

Mrs. Ouma decided to join the Juakali Women Group (JWG), a self-help farming organisation. Through JWG, she received training in saving and loans, poultry keeping and management in October 2010 from Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC) and Siaya Seed Sacco, a community banking cooperative. Within two months, Mrs. Ouma applied for a business start-up loan offered by Siaya Seed Sacco to budding entrepreneurs in the community. She used the loan to start a business with 200 birds.

“I’m very grateful to Siaya for training members of JWG on poultry keeping and management,” she said. “Now, I’m able to sustain myself economically by selling my birds to the nearby market, and I’m now eyeing the bigger market.”

Asked about her level of education, she said, “I have never been to a classroom; but I’m glad to have had L3F training.” L3F is an acronym for Lifelong Learning for Farmers, an initiative of the Commonwealth of Learning aimed at enhancing self-directed learning by the community itself. Generally, L3F is all about community value addition. It does this by facilitating learning in the context of socio-economic value chain. It bases its theme on the development of the community by making sure that the targeted
groups develop a clear strategy for their activities and projects. This transforms people into resource persons who achieve enough production for themselves and surplus to help others.

Broiler birds mature in eight to ten weeks and are then sold. Mrs. Ouma sold 180 of her first stock – 20 of them were lost to disease and other problems encountered during travel from the supplier. After buying the birds for 100 Kenyan shillings each and selling them for 350 Kenyan shillings each, Mrs. Ouma declares, “I’m a happy woman now.”

The market for the birds is ripe, Mrs. Ouma reports. To satisfy this market, she has advised more farmers to come out and embrace the booming business. JWG has constructed 16 poultry houses in readiness for implementation of large scale poultry keeping. Members of the group have asked UCRC to continue with training and support to ensure a sustainable stable community.

As for Mrs. Ouma, she is preparing to double her next poultry purchase to 400 birds, and she has plans to venture into large
scale poultry keeping. Thanks to L3F, she has quickly made the transition from displaced person to entrepreneur.

www.col.org/L3Farmers

The Honourable Dr. Mamphono Khaketla (Photo on the Left) Addresses VUSSC workshop participants

The ninth International Training and Materials Development workshop for the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) resulted in the development of a Business and Entrepreneurship programme that includes certificate, diploma and degree levels. Perhaps the most ambitious VUSSC workshop to date, this one was held in Lesotho in March and involved 24 educators from 16 countries. It was hosted by the National University of Lesotho.

As with past VUSSC “boot camps”, this three-week workshop provided training in information and communication technology (ICT) skills and how to develop resources for open and distance learning (ODL) before participants even began content development. By the end, they had completed most of a three-level curriculum that allows learners to enter and exit at different points in the programme. This flexible approach allows them to choose whether they pursue a certificate, diploma or degree. The target audience is school leavers (ages 18–25) and mid-career professionals (ages 25–45) who are seeking education that will prepare them to become entrepreneurs in their local communities.

In her welcoming address, Lesotho’s Minister of Education, the Honourable Dr. Mamphono Khaketla, told participants that the workshop could not have come at a better time as the university was reviewing the curriculum of its Bachelor in Business and Entrepreneurship programme. She said she looks forward to the university implementing the new VUSSC programme.

Workshop participants are continuing to work on the course materials, communicating online on a weekly basis until the course is complete. The programme will be available for delivery online and in face-to-face mode, with the launch expected in early 2012.

www.col.org/vussc

www.vussc.org

The Honourable Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ambika Soni, at the Community Radio Sammelan in April

Photo: Press Information Bureau, Government of India

COL’s regional agency, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, hosted the first National Community Radio Sammelan (conference) in partnership with the Government of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The three-day meeting in New Delhi attracted 120 people representing 90 community radio stations, government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The meeting also brought together international donor agencies including UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, Ford Foundation and World Bank, to help mobilise funding for community radio stations.

Inaugurating the event, the Honourable Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ambika Soni, promised greater government attention and support for community radio. Over three days, delegates heard success stories from community radio stations. Other sessions focused on the role of international agencies in funding, content creation, developing local talent, technology and policy guidelines.

CEMCA presented the first Community Radio Awards for Good Practices in four categories: Best Thematic Campaign, Promoting Local Culture, Sustainability and Business Model, and Community Engagement. A six-member jury comprised of broadcasters, social activists and media practitioners honoured 10 community radio stations with awards in several categories.

CEMCA also launched two new resources for community radio stations:

• Compendium of Community Radio Stations, 2011 provides information about individual community radio stations. Contributed by the radio stations, the listings provide information about programming focus, partnerships, funding and support required. The Compendium will continue to be updated and is available at the CEMCA website.
• Details of Functional Community Radio Stations in India is a directory that lists the location and contact information of all community radio stations in the country. This will also be updated regularly as more community radio stations are established.

These latest activities are part of CEMCA’s efforts to support the expansion of community radio in India. The number of community radio stations has expanded from just one in 2004 to 110 in mid-2011. CEMCA’s Director, Dr. R. Sreedher, launched the first station in 2004 and is recognised as a pioneer in community radio. He joined CEMCA in 2007 and now having made considerable progress in raising awareness and supporting the establishment of community radio stations, CEMCA is turning its focus to capacity building, content development and sharing of programming.

www.cemca.org

COL’s Healthy Communities initiative brings together groups working at the local level – media, health agencies, non-governmental organisations and community groups – to address health and development challenges through participatory learning programmes. After partnerships are formed and capacity building is initiated, COL remains involved in a supporting role. Here are recent examples of COL’s activities as an ongoing partner with community learning initiatives.

RENEWING PARTNERSHIPS IN BELIZE

COL helped to establish the Life Updates community learning programme in Belize in 2010. This collaboration among a community radio station, health clinics, women’s groups and other community organisations had produced radio programmes that address community health issues such as diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

COL conducted a mentoring and training visit in March 2011 that brought together new and existing partners to discuss challenges and future plans. Presentation skills training was conducted and a programme-development meeting among all the partners was held to create a new broadcast schedule. The Life Updates programmes are continuing well and the partners are moving forward with a shared vision.

ENGAGING LEARNERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

COL’s community media initiative in Upington in Northern Cape Province, South Africa is providing knowledge and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and their caregivers. Launched last year, the Summer for All community learning programme is a partnership with the Media and Training Centre (MTC) that targets more than 1,000 learners identified by non-governmental organisations and high schools.

Learner support is an important part of the community learning programme model. Alongside use of mobile telephones, referrals to websites and printed communication, face-to-face interaction is integral to mobilising both individual and community responses. While radio content is being broadcast as scheduled, engaging and supporting learners off-air has been a challenge. As part of new capacity building efforts and planning for sustainability of the initiative, the NGO partner Noord Kaap Vigs Forum (Northern Cape AIDS Forum) will assume coordination of the face-to-face learner support groups, with a focus on discussion of programme content and increasing learner numbers to the target of 1,000 by end June 2011.

“The lesson learned here is that different partners bring distinct assets and expertise to the collaboration,” explained Mr. Ian Pringle, COL Education Specialist, Community Media. “Community organisations and networks are an essential and unique part of the mix in terms of supporting learning through face-to-face and mediated interaction and also making the link to mobilisation and social change. We are pleased to have a new programme partner who will work with us on this important task.”

COL’s Flexible Skills Development (FSD) programme is helping technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in Africa expand flexible and blended delivery approaches. By increasing access to quality skills development for young people and adults, the FSD programme aims to alleviate poverty. In recent months, COL has led several activities aimed at building capacity among 11 key TVET institutions in Africa.

REVIEWING ICT INFRASTRUCTURE

At a meeting in 2010, principals from the partner institutions identified information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure as an area requiring support. COL undertook a review, conducted by consultant Mr. Nicholas Kimolo from Nairobi, Kenya. He made site visits to all 11 institutions and provided an assessment of their ICT infrastructure and plans, as well as advice on possible areas of upgrades and strategies for establishing learning management systems.

A number of common issues arose in these ICT infrastructure assessments, including:

• There is a range of student:computer ratios: the highest ratio is 1:40, and the lowest is 1:5,
• The cost of bandwidth is high for all institutions assessed,
• Unstable and unreliable power supply is a challenge,
• Unlicensed or improperly licensed software, and
• Only three institutions have an ICT support function that is independent of the ICT academic department.

The assessments also revealed the need for further support in areas such as developing learning materials, instructional design, acquiring network hosting services, acquiring lower cost bandwidth and advocacy with governments.

Feedback from the institutions has been extremely positive. COL and partners are exploring options for accessing less expensive Internet rates for these institutions. Institutions are also exploring other recommendations for action developed as part of the ICT infrastructure assessment.

DEVELOPING CAPACITY

The Institute for Learning in the UK is offering six scholarships for staff at FSD institutions to gain UK Qualified Teacher Status. Successful applicants will participate in online professional development and spend time at the Institute in the UK later this year.

A second group of managers from TVET institutions and policy makers have completed COL’s online course in the management of flexible skills development. Forty people took part in the five-week course, which helps institutions manage the change to more flexible teaching approaches.

Three teachers from each partner institution are benefiting from another online programme, “Flexible Teaching and Learning”. This 10-week course will help teachers move beyond traditional teaching methods to use eLearning and other flexible teaching methods.

COMMUNITY LEARNING NETWORK

The FSD Community Learning Network has attracted more than 180 members in its first four months of operation. This online discussion forum provides information, resources and support for people involved in open and distance learning approaches to TVET in Africa. Each of the African FSD institutions has a group space within the Community Learning Network, and there are also groups for policy makers, institutional champions, equity and gender discussions and Moodlers.

Flexible Skills Development is a partnership between COL and the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA). To find out more, contact the COL FSD Team at flexibleskills@col.org.

COL RIM SUPPORTS QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

An international team made a verification visit to support COL RIM implementation at the Open University of Sri Lanka in December 2010

COL’s Review and Improvement Model (COL RIM) is helping higher education institutions across the Commonwealth conduct quality assurance audits. Trial audits at the University of Technology, Jamaica and the Open University of Sri Lanka have been completed, and a COL RIM audit has begun with a verification visit at the University of Calabar, Nigeria. The Commonwealth Secretariat has committed up to £26,000 to support COL RIM implementation at the National Institute of Health and Social Sciences in Seychelles and the University of Guyana.

COL RIM provides higher education institutions with a “do-it-yourself” approach to institutional quality audits. After leading audits of UNISA and the University of Ghana in 2007, COL concluded that the high cost of using external teams would deter many institutions from conducting quality assurance audits. COL developed COL RIM as a cost-effective alternative to using external audit teams. Focusing on self-assessment, COL RIM helps institutions improve internal quality assurance, planning and systematic institutional improvement. A small team of consultants act as external verifiers.

The COL RIM package, consisting of a conceptual framework and handbook, is freely available from COL. For more information, contact Ms. Ruvani Ameresekere, Programme Assistant.